Composition for filtering and removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid

Abstract

Filter-aid materials are disclosed herein, and processes, systems, and methods using such filter-aid materials for filtering and removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid, wherein the filter-aid material comprises at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one adsorbent component formed in-situ on at least one filtration component. Further disclosed herein are filter-aid materials and processes, systems, and methods using such filter-aid materials for filtering and removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid, wherein the filter-aid material comprises at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one adsorbent component formed in-situ on at least one filtration component, and wherein the filter-aid material further comprises an at least one additional filtration component mixed with the at least one filterable composite adsorbent.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for simultaneously filtering and improving the chill haze stability of a beer, comprising:
 (i) providing a filterable composite adsorbent comprising diatomite as a filtration component and precipitated silica as an adsorption component, wherein the precipitated silica has been precipitated in-situ on the surface of diatomite without thermal sintering or chemical bonding; wherein the precipitated silica has an average particle size of less than about 1 micrometer; 
 (ii) pre-coating a filter element with the filterable composite adsorbent; and 
 (iii) passing a beer containing particles and/or constituents to be adsorbed through the coated filter element. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising suspending a portion of the filterable composite adsorbent in the beer prior to passing the beer through the coated filter element. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the particles and/or constituents include chill haze forming proteins. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the filter element includes a septum. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the average particle size of the precipitated silica is less than about 0.5 microns. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the average particle size of the precipitated silica is less than about 0.1 microns. 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the average particle size of the precipitated silica ranges from about 5 nanometers to about 1 micron. 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the BET surface area of the precipitated silica ranges from about 25 to about 2550 m 2 /g. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the BET surface area of the precipitated silica ranges from about 50 to about 500 m 2 /g. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the diatomite comprises at least 50% by weight of the filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the precipitated silica comprises at least 15% by weight of the filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the precipitated silica comprises at least 25% by weight of the filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filterable composite adsorbent has an average permeability ranging from about 0.05 Darcy to about 10 Darcy. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filterable composite adsorbent has a wet density ranging from about 10 lb/ft 3  to about 25 lb/ft 3 . 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one additional filtration component is mixed with the at least one filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the at least one additional filtration component comprises diatomite. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional filtration component comprises perlite.